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Louisville defensive end Marcus Smith (91) sacks South Florida quarterback Bobby Eveld (13) during the first quarter of a game on Oct. 26, 2013, in Tampa, Fla. Smith was selected in the first round, 26th overall, by the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL draft on Thursday night.
(AP Photo | CHRIS O'MEARA)

The last time the Philadelphia Eagles selected a linebacker with their first-round pick in the NFL draft, back in 1979, they made the Super Bowl two years later in 1981.

Eagles fans can only hope the same cause-and-effect relationship happens again with Louisville outside linebacker Marcus Smith filling the Jerry Robinson role.

"I'll do anything I can to help this team win a championship, anything I can, from special teams to rushing the passer to just playing linebacker," said Smith, after Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly took a bit of a flyer Thursday night and drafted Smith with the No. 26 selection in the first round of the NFL draft after trading down from the No. 22 choice.

Cleveland turned that pick into Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel and sent the Eagles the No. 83 overall pick (third round) for the privilege.

Smith was generally projected as a second-to-fourth round choice by most draft analysts.

His selection surprised almost everybody -- including Smith.

"I was watching the draft with my family in a sports bar in Louisville," Smith said. "I got the call from the Eagles and I was so overwhelmed. I knew the Eagles liked me, but I had no idea they were going to take me until they called me. I am so happy to be picked in the first round and so happy to be a part of the Eagles."

The 6-foot-3, 251-pound Smith, a 22-year-old native of Columbus, Ga., piled up 14 1/2 sacks for the Cardinals last season while being named the American Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team All-American by Walter Camp, USA Today and CBSSports.

Kelly said the Birds see him in a pass-rushing role on the outside, helping out Trent Cole and Connor Barwin in the Birds' 3-4, and Smith said that was fine with him.

"I have a lot of experience in the 3-4 defense, we ran that my junior and senior seasons," said Smith, who was recruited to Louisville as a quarterback and flipped positions as a freshman. "Most of the time my hand was in the dirt (as an end) but I played a lot of places."

Smith was no surprise to Kelly, who said the Birds had him as the No. 7 choice on their board.

"Marcus is an outstanding athlete," Kelly said. "How many guys are there with 250-pound size, run a 4.68 40 and has 34-inch arms, and you know our motto, 'long levers are strong levers'. He has a lot of upside; he's very athletic."

So when all the other six players were gone at No. 22, Kelly made a move.

"Trading down just kind of happened," Kelly said. "There were six guys we were going to take at No. 22, but by the time we got there a lot of other teams had obviously liked the same guys and called their names. So we did what we do, we follow our board. We thought we could trade down and get Marcus at 26; it was a great situation for us. We thought this was a deep draft and being short of picks (the Birds entered the draft with just six selections) we thought we could get the guy we wanted and pick up another pick."

Louisville wound up with three of its players picked in the first round (one less than the entire Big Ten), and Kelly said the college pedigree played a key role in selecting Smith.

"Louisville is one of the best programs in the country," Kelly said. "I know (Louisville coach) Charlie Strong personally, and his stamp of approval on a player I take very seriously."